<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>praise by civillove</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27506209">praise</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/civillove/pseuds/civillove'>civillove</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Good Girls (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Praise Kink</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-08 03:27:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,040</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27506209</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/civillove/pseuds/civillove</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>three times rio calls beth a good girl and one time he really means it<br/>--<br/>Beth’s always worked off of praise, she preens to it like a sunflower turning towards the sun.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Beth Boland/Rio</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>361</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Good Girls Kinkfest 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>praise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>literally amaze myself with title choices. thanks for the support from everyone who was looking forward to this :3 means a lot xo. also uh, idk where we are in canon anymore. lets just put this back to before beth tries to kill rio bc that'll just be easier :) thanks for coming to my TED talk.  enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p>
<p>Beth’s always worked off of praise, she preens to it like a sunflower turning towards the sun. This happens for several reasons—for one, she lacks self-esteem sometimes because she’s not always quite sure where she fits (in her life, in her marriage, in the PTA council, in her own skin). So she likes to be assured that she’s on the right track, whether that’s baking, raising her kids, cooking a good dinner, or most recently, working with a gang member to turn a profit. It also has everything to do with receiving compliments she believes she deserves for hard work. She’s always taught her kids to be kind, to offer words of encouragement to others, to metaphorically pat someone on the back when they’re doing a good job.</p>
<p>Rio is <em>severely </em>lacking in this department, which seems a little ridiculous seeing as how she’s seen him validate his son with soft words like <em>good job, pop </em>when he comes off the soccer field. So she knows he’s capable, he’s just apparently stingy with who he offers those words to.</p>
<p>Beth doesn’t say anything though because half the time she’s so busy that it doesn’t really bother her. But on <em>some </em>days (like today) when she’s busting her ass to get a lot of money washed in a short amount of time? A little gratitude goes a long way.</p>
<p>She pulls her messy waves up into a soft ponytail, a few strands resting along her neck as she sits in the car dealership office afterhours, counting stacks of money while Rio hovers nearby. She can feel his eyes on her, occasionally shifting between the cash and her plunging neckline—like that’s not distracting enough.</p>
<p>“Can you let me concentrate?”</p>
<p>Rio smirks but says nothing, crossing his arms over his chest as he leans against the far wall. He looks away from her, decides to wander over towards a family portrait of Beth and the kids—Dean’s nowhere in sight, so obviously that’s her favorite type of photograph. His head tilts as he looks at it and she glances at the muscles in his neck before continuing the task at hand.</p>
<p>“I really wish you wouldn’t have given me so much to do at the last minute.”</p>
<p>“Why? I knew you could handle it. It’s only ten K.”</p>
<p>“Ten thousand <em>over,” </em>Beth looks up at him, her fingers curling around the stack of cash she’s currently counting, “Over the usual number that you have me wash. That’s a lot of fucking small bills.”</p>
<p>Slight irritation flares between his shoulder blades and his next sentence sounds a lot like <em>it’s almost as if you’re doin’ your job. </em>Rio turns and licks his lips, shrugging his one shoulder. “I got somethin’ to deal with, I needed the extra cash.”</p>
<p>“Something you’re not going to tell me about?”</p>
<p>His expression changes, just slightly, a shadow passing over his facial features as his jaw works—telling her to especially mind her own business. She rolls her eyes, so fed up with his antics, and wraps a green rubber band around the cash stack before she starts on the last one.</p>
<p>“I’m just saying,” Beth concentrates for a few moments and listens to him walk back towards the desk, sitting on the corner on the side she’s counting on, “A ‘thank you’ wouldn’t hurt every now and then.”</p>
<p>Rio purses his lips, looking more amused than anything else—<em>entertained </em>by her but it’s not in a way that makes her feel good, “What, all of a sudden you need to be praised for doin’ things you’re supposed to be doin’?” He asks, reaching for her chin and tapping it so that she looks at him.</p>
<p>Beth steels her gaze, her jaw clenching as her gaze flutters over him. Rio’s capable of being his own black hole—always pulling her in, gravity forbidden, a series of twists and turns that make her stomach flip. He’s too beautiful to look at sometimes, especially in the dimness of this office, shadows hugging his form, highlighting the sharpness of his cheekbones and the wings of his bird tattoo.</p>
<p>She licks her lips.</p>
<p>Rio shifts in his seat, his hips moving a little as he adjusts against the corner of the desk, “You want me to tell you you’re a <em>good girl? </em>Is that it?”</p>
<p>Beth gapes at him, her mouth suddenly running dry because no—no that’s not what she’s saying at all. And yet…she <em>hates </em>how good at sounds, her heartbeat beginning to thrum in her ears. The corner of Rio’s mouth twitches because, of course, he knows exactly what he’s doing.</p>
<p>She shakes herself out of it, a scoff leaving her lips as she continues counting the last bundle. “I’m just saying you suck with encouragement.” She mumbles, not giving him another second of her time when she’s got shit to do.</p>
<p>Rio smirks, drumming his fingers on his thigh, “I’ll take it up with HR at my next meeting.”</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Regardless of whether Rio likes to admit it or not, him and Beth <em>are </em>partners. They work together towards a common goal—it’s not always thought out and he’s not consistently forthcoming with her. But there’s trust there, for the most part, when it matters most.</p>
<p>They rarely run into problems that they can’t handle but sometimes it <em>does </em>happen—things get messy, things fall apart, blood spatters on walls and the floor of a warehouse when a deal goes wrong. There’s still ringing in her ears from the sound of Rio’s gun going off, she can still smell the smoke in the air or maybe it’s just stuck in the back of her nostrils. This guy that they were working with tried to bite off more than he could chew and Rio has this <em>thing </em>about jobs not going according to plan. He was already aggravated that the guy (<em>this guy had a name, Beth, —Jamais) </em>showed up late, a sign that was off-putting.</p>
<p>While Beth had told Rio to relax, it turns out that his hunch was right (because of course it was—he’s been doing this a long time, far longer than her). Jamais walks through the door with extra muscle and tries to take more than he’s earned and Rio doesn’t second guess lifting his gun when the conversation turns heated and taking care of business.</p>
<p>While Aviles and Rio drag the body out of the warehouse, Beth goes on autopilot—she knows that Rio keeps cleaning supplies in his trunk, <em>very specific </em>cleaning supplies that are used in situations like this. While this is a warehouse in the middle of nowhere, with no ties or anything to them, there’s this overwhelming need to protect them, to clean up after the things they’ve done, to wash away evidence.</p>
<p>She’s on her hands and knees, scrubbing with a thick brush meant to clean in-between tiles with heady, bleach disinfectant that burns her eyes. There’s not a lot of blood, but there’s enough—drips and patches and streaks.</p>
<p>Rio comes up behind her, leaning down and drawing his forearms underneath her armpits to lift her up from the floor, “Good girl,” He whispers into her ear, a shiver from the heat of his breath coursing down the back of her neck and spine. “I got someone to take care of that, aight? Come on.”</p>
<p>Beth drops the brush, her fingers raw and blood stained—he takes her hand easily anyways, their fingers lacing loosely together as he tugs her out of the warehouse and towards his car. Beth feels those simple words of praise stick to her like honey, something fiery and thick coursing through her bloodstream.</p>
<p>It’s different than the sarcasm that the phrase held before—he’s <em>impressed </em>with her, in the quick turnaround of Beth handling the situation and not letting it overwhelm her. That she did what she needed to do and attempted to protect them when it mattered most.</p>
<p>And the cadence of his voice in her ear is something that stays with her long after the night is over.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Beth paces in her office, watching through the glass windowpanes as one of her ladies attempts to sell a van to a man who looks like he doesn’t belong. It’s something she feels like she’s getting a better grasp on—when something fishy works its way into her business. This guy just…he sticks out like a sore thumb; he’s handsome, too smooth with his words, too flirtatious and easy when listening to the deals that they’ve got going on for vans in her lot. Which just tells Beth a few things: either this guy is attempting to look for an easy hookup at a car dealership while his wife takes care of the kids <em>or </em>he’s a cop.</p>
<p>Her door opens behind her and she doesn’t have to look to see who it is, even though she does a quick glance over her shoulder. Rio saunters, letting the door close behind him.</p>
<p>“Yo,” He says in lieu of an actual greeting, leaning back against the wood as his eyes travel over her form.</p>
<p>It’s almost ridiculous how comfortable she’s getting with him checking her out, how his gaze always attempts to peel back her layers—physically <em>and </em>emotionally. It’s why she opted for a form fitting scarlet red dress for today, mise well give him something to stare at.</p>
<p>“Took you long enough.”</p>
<p>Rio rolls his eyes, his head tipping back a little as he forces himself up and off the door. “I know this might be hard for you to get but you’re not my number one priority.”</p>
<p>Beth crosses her arms over her chest and settles back against her desk chair, motioning to what’s going on beyond the glass. For one, she doesn’t believe him—because for the most part, he comes when she calls. And secondly? She’s got a good reason to be pulling him into the loop, she’s been working on trusting her gut and not gaslighting herself.</p>
<p>“So this guy has been in twice since yesterday—I think he’s a cop.”</p>
<p>Rio moves to stand next to her, glancing out the window and taking a long look at who she’s referring to. “What makes you say that?”</p>
<p>Beth scoffs, as if it’s not <em>obvious, </em>“Come on, he’s clearly not here for the tea, free car-seat installations or mini-van advice.” She pries her arms off her chest to relax them down by her sides and may have a hidden motive of not hiding the great view of her cleavage in this dress. “You told me to tell you when I felt like something could be off during business hours so…this is me telling you.”</p>
<p>Rio sticks his hands in his pockets, the corners of his mouth pulling as he shakes his head. He turns to look at her, nodding, “Good, that’s good.”</p>
<p>It’s a compliment…but ironically, not quite what she wants to hear.</p>
<p>His eyes pass over her and for a moment, she feels blush travel down from her neck and splotch the skin on her chest. He’s zeroing in on her target and Beth straightens her shoulders, which only makes him slightly more amused. But then she realizes that he’s reading her in a way that he always seems capable of doing—like the words are printed directly on her skin, coming out of her pores.</p>
<p>Beth’s not sure how Rio <em>does </em>that, how someone she barely knows can see her so clearly while people she’s been with her entire life have these foggy representations of who she is. Rio digs under her skin by taking a step forward, the icy touch of his pinky ring gliding against her jawline when he tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear.</p>
<p>“Oh, m’sorry—did I not say it the way you like it?”</p>
<p>She swallows thickly, her breath catching in her throat as her pulse begins to pound. Beth’s distantly aware that she should probably be mortified that he’s noticed that she <em>enjoys </em>hearing him give her small words of praise. And yet—she’s not. She wants <em>more, </em>wants to turn her head until her lips are grazing over his fingertips, red lipstick staining his skin.</p>
<p>Rio leans forward, his lips brushing along the pulse point on her neck, the words whispered into her skin <em>good girl </em>and a shudder passes through her body almost violently. Heat pools in her stomach and sinks lower, almost an ache centering and tugging like a lifeline.</p>
<p>Then the warmth of his body is gone, stepping away from her, an entertained expression on his face that she wants to smack right off.</p>
<p>“He’s not a cop, by the way.”</p>
<p>Beth blinks, trying to get her brain to restart because <em>what? </em></p>
<p>Rio raises an eyebrow, motioning to the glass window that shows the parking lot. “The guy? He’s interested in your blonde oversellin’ last year’s model of that van. He’s one of mine—he’s just keepin’ an eye on you.”</p>
<p>Well if she wasn’t angry before, she is <em>now </em>and it completely takes over her body’s initial reaction to Rio’s proximity<em>. </em>Her mouth falls open because, “I don’t need someone to keep an eye on me.” Regardless of the reason, she doesn’t need the implication that she can’t do her job within their business.</p>
<p>Rio shrugs, seemingly unmoved by the shrillness in her voice. He leans in a little, his words brushing over the skin of her jaw, “Though I gotta tell him to stop mixin’ so much business with pleasure.”</p>
<p>Beth lets out a long, aggravated sound when Rio leaves the office, running a hand through her hair. She glares at the man still in the parking lot and moves to go give him a piece of her mind.</p>
<p>Mixing business with pleasure? Rio should be so lucky.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Beth rarely gets this angry with Rio because she knows how much of a waste of time it is. And besides, she already knows that he enjoys seeing her riled up, so her coming at him with waves of irritation mixed with fury will get her absolutely nowhere. Unless she wants to bite off the end of her tongue in frustration when all he does is cock his head at her and <em>smile </em>in that annoyingly handsome way that he does.</p>
<p>No, she needs to be diplomatic about this and have an actual conversation if she wants it to go anywhere.</p>
<p>So Beth is incredibly patient when she crosses her arms over her chest while Rio sits on the picnic table in her backyard when she asks, “What do you <em>mean </em>the deal was rescheduled?”</p>
<p>Rio watches her for a moment, lazily leaning back against the table. He’s actually sitting on the seat compared to having his feet on it and looks up at her with a <em>face </em>like she’s sporting a third eye in the middle of her forehead.</p>
<p>“What part are you havin’ trouble with?”</p>
<p>Beth’s fingers dig into the soft skin of her forearms—the weather’s nice as the sun goes down, suburbia fading into nighttime with pink and orange skies. Rio’s dressed all in black, comfortable, the t-shirt he’s wearing looking incredibly soft against his skin. She pictures the block tattoos on the back of his arms even though she can’t see them, decides to follow the veins sticking out along his biceps instead.</p>
<p>Rio senses her gaze, shifting his hips into a more comfortable position with his legs slightly more open. The <em>dick. </em></p>
<p>“The fact that I spent <em>two weeks </em>getting all the cars together at the dealership and you’re telling me that it’s not happening?”</p>
<p>“I didn’t say it wasn’t happening,” Rio leans forward, putting his elbows on his knees, “I said it was <em>moved.” </em>He sounds the word out, like she’s slow, and it boils the blood underneath her skin.</p>
<p>“Why do you get to make a decision like that without at least talking to me?” And it sounds kind of like whining, she knows that, but they’re supposed to be working together—they’re supposed to be consulting one another like partners. Then there’s the nonchalant attitude he has, like he <em>expected</em> her to react like this.</p>
<p>Rio shrugs, his one hand running over the lower half of his face, “You’re pissed off all the time so why should now be any different?”</p>
<p>Beth can feel her jaw working, “Are you kidding? I gave up nights with my kids to have this ready—”</p>
<p>He waves his hand at her, cutting her off, “Nah, you don’t get to play the ma card with me. It’s not my fault you got six kids.”</p>
<p>A strangled laugh leaves her throat as she looks up to the sky, a smile twitching its way onto Rio’s lips as the tension seems to dissipate. Yeah, she’s annoyed—but somehow this is at <em>least </em>progress. There was a point in their working relationship where Rio wouldn’t have even told her the meeting had been moved and then held the thing without her. Communication, though aggravating sometimes, is at least present.</p>
<p>She shakes her head, putting her hands on her hips before taking a deep breath of the night air into her lungs. She fixates her gaze on Rio and he leans back against the picnic table again—the silence fizzling between them and somehow becoming deafening.</p>
<p>Beth moves closer until they’re only an inch apart—despite the deal being shifted, she wants recognition for all the work she’s done to get them to this point. Work, she knows, that could not have been accomplished without her. Rio watches her carefully, his eyes traveling up her body until the gaze rests on her face.</p>
<p>“I want to hear you say it.” Beth says, the words sitting heavily in the air, like they’re hanging on string in front of him.</p>
<p>They slowly wrap around his throat and Rio smiles, eyes somehow a shade darker when he licks his lips because he knows exactly what she wants. “Make me.”</p>
<p>So Beth slowly sinks to her knees.</p>
<p>Part of her is aware of how terrible this idea could be, right in her backyard, only the fence hiding what she’s about to do but another side of her couldn’t care less. She unzips Rio’s jeans and tugs the fabric away, looking up at him through her eyelashes as she frees him from his briefs, already half hard.</p>
<p>It’s completely worth it to see the subtle changes on his face, the soft intake of breath into his lungs, the way his fingers twitch against his thighs. While Beth is after something very specific, she takes this as a victory within itself—seeing Rio unravel is rarely something she can claim as her own.</p>
<p>Rio groans as Beth wraps her lips around his cock, her fingers holding him at his base, moving lower with patient swipes of her thumb. She shifts her hips forward in the grass, her knees digging in, her other hand unbuttoning her own jeans to satisfy the heat gathering low and insistent in her own stomach.</p>
<p>She moans around him, taking him a bit deeper, her tongue dragging down the vein on the underside of his dick as she begins moving her head. Rio’s own tips back, his throat visible as he swallows, the wings of the bird tattoo on his neck moving as he hisses outright. Seeing him like that, coming apart, not holding himself together with walls meant to keep her away, turns her on. Her fingers are coated in her own wetness as she explores her folds, multitasking as her mouth tends to Rio.</p>
<p>One of his hands goes to her hair as she picks up the pace, her other fingers circling her clit and Beth makes a soft strangled noise as he tugs on her hair—but still says nothing. She pulls back with a lewd popping noise, looking up at him as she licks her lips, her cheeks flushed and mouth red.</p>
<p>He looks down at her, breathing heavily, his hips moving a little on their own accord as his hard cock rests against his stomach, precum beading at the head. There’s a moment there, a silent conversation and Rio bites down on his lower lip, his hand smoothing through her locks,</p>
<p>“Such a good girl, yeah?” He praises, heat exploding in her lower belly as she slides two fingers into herself, a guttural sound leaving her lips. “<em>My </em>good girl.”</p>
<p>Beth rocks into her hand before leaning down again to take Rio’s cock into her mouth to finish what she’s started. He’s a little rough with tugging her hair but she can’t seem to be bothered with that either, the pain circulating through her body and twisting into pleasure as her hand works quickly against her clit.</p>
<p>When Rio’s thighs clench, Beth takes that as a warning to back off. So she does and continues to work him with her hand, the motions a little complicated and haphazard because she’s trying to pleasure herself at the same time. Rio cums with a strangled groan, nothing too obscene—which she wildly appreciates because once again she’s reminded that they’re in her yard.</p>
<p>She vaguely wonders if her neighbors can see her, if they’d tell Dean, and somehow that spurns her on even further and Beth loses herself right then and there. Her fingers grab onto Rio’s thigh, nails digging into the fabric to ground herself, her hips jerking as she rolls through the orgasm.</p>
<p>Beth pants, her cheeks a bright pink, heated skin against the soft coolness of the air around her. Rio cups her cheek with one of his hands, leaning down to kiss her. Their tongues roll together languidly and she stands to sit on his lap, her arms wrapping around his shoulders.</p>
<p>Sweat dries on their skin but they don’t leave the yard for a long time.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Beth lets out a long sigh as she closes one of the books she keeps in the dealership, taking her hair out of the ponytail that it’s been in for about an hour. If she’s looking at these prospects right, she’s pretty sure she can up their profit by twenty-five percent. It’s going to take a few extra hours and more cars but it’ll break even in terms of making more cash.</p>
<p>Now she just has to convince Rio of that.</p>
<p>She slides the binder towards him when they meet at their bar, Rio already leaning against the counter on a stool as he sips bourbon. He twirls the liquid in the glass, glancing at the binder and then to her before raising an eyebrow.</p>
<p>“What? No ‘hello’ or orderin’ a drink first? Straight to business?”</p>
<p>Beth rolls her eyes as she slides onto the stool next to him, waving down the bartender to put in a drink order. “Thought we wanted to stop mixing business with pleasure?” She asks, amusement coloring her tone.</p>
<p>Rio smirks, “I’m pretty sure I never said that.” He licks his lips and takes a sip of his drink. Drawing the binder closer to him, he opens it up to take a look at her projections.</p>
<p>He runs his fingers along the outer edge of the pages, flipping in-between them to check her numbers as Beth’s drink is placed in front of her. She takes a long sip, the liquid burning the back of her throat in a pleasant way as she turns to watch Rio look over her work.</p>
<p>Beth chews on her lower lip, straightening her shoulders before curling her hair around her ear.</p>
<p>“I’m pretty sure everything’s in order—I double checked; we should be able to handle twice the amount of shipment.” She lowers her voice as the bartender passes, waiting, and then speaks again, “Which means…”</p>
<p>Rio hums, “Twice the amount of cash, yeah, I see that.”</p>
<p>He looks up at her, his gaze tracing the lines of her face. There’s something there, in his eyes, a warmth that settles directly in her stomach and blooms outward. He nods his head, closing the book before motioning to the bartender for another round.</p>
<p>His hand falls to her knee, squeezing, “You did good, mama.”</p>
<p>Beth grins; she knows.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you for reading and any kudos or comments you have to offer :) appreciate it! i'm over at blainesebastian on tumblr *u*</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>